Assessing Workplace Bullying: Psychometric Analysis of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) among Brazilian Teachers

Abstract

Most research on school violence in Brazil has overlooked teacher victimization, focusing instead on students. This study focused on evaluating the psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire- Revised (NAQ-R) in a sample of 10.148 teachers from Brazilian public schools. The NAQ-R, developed to measure exposure to workplace bullying, originally included 23 items but was later revised to 22. It assesses three factors of bullying: personal, workrelated, and physically intimidating forms. The study employed a self-administered questionnaire issued via the Internet. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, alongside assessment of convergent validity with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20), an instrument for screening common mental disorders. This study discovered a two-factor structure (personal bullying: α = .93, ω = .79; work-related bullying: α = .92, ω = .74). The NAQ-R showed adequate internal consistency and validity (RMSEArobust = .089, 90 % CI: .086 – .089, SRMR = .041, CFIrobust = .916, TLIrobust = .905), correlating positively with the SRQ-20. The findings align with international studies, suggesting the measure’s stability.

Keywords

• harassment
• workplace violence
• teachers
• schools
• validation studies